


This Is Not A Cult

by HolyGuacomole



Series: Lydia Martin, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (for teen wolf), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Compliant, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Danny Mahealani, Banshee Lydia Martin, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/F, Gen, Interrogation, Recruitment, Teen Wolf AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 02:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11139330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyGuacomole/pseuds/HolyGuacomole
Summary: She fought against visibly flinching, but a quick look to Agent 'Smith’s' quirked mouth proved her effort fruitless. Lydia forced her apparent quivering to cease, and sat up straight after reading over the thick confidentiality packet, urging herself to look the other woman in the eye before responding precisely, “This paperwork seems legitimate, and the whole dominance display is fairly intimidating, I’ll admit.”“But?” Smith raised a perfectly tweezed brow.“But this could all just be an elaborate ruse to use me for some nefarious purpose.”The agent didn’t fight her wide grin, “Nefarious? With a capital N?”





	This Is Not A Cult

**Author's Note:**

> This is part one in a series (I know some of y'all are rollin' your eyes- tired of my constant series cluttering my dash), and I am so sorry for diving deep into this SO-RARE-NOONE-ELSE-IS-EVEN-SHIPPING-IT-RARE-PAIR.
> 
> This story will be canon for AOS in terms of plots/arcs, but some character dynamics will definitely be changing since I'm introducing Lydia to the team (to her love interest) some time after S1, but before S2. Teen Wolf will be canon-compliant up to S4, as I don't want to include the mess that was everything (including) after the dread doctors. Everything past Mexico didn't happen for this AU.
> 
> Please leave me a comment before you go, and I hope the beginning to Lydia's adventure is well-received!
> 
> P.S. it's 2 in the morning and I didn't have a beta- so here's hoping the fic isn't riddled with missed grammatical errors.

Lydia was intimidated.

_Lydia was Intimidated._

“Are these terms agreeable, Miss Martin.”

She fought against visibly flinching, but a quick look to Agent 'Smith’s' quirked mouth proved her effort fruitless. Lydia forced her apparent quivering to cease, and sat up straight after reading over the thick confidentiality packet, urging herself to look the other woman in the eye before responding precisely, “This paperwork seems legitimate, and the whole dominance display is fairly intimidating, I’ll admit.”

“But?” Smith raised a perfectly tweezed brow.

“But this could all just be an elaborate ruse to use me for some nefarious purpose.”

The agent didn’t fight her wide grin, “ _Nefarious_? With a capital N?”

“I’ll have you know I’m trained.”

“Trained in what, exactly?”

Lydia made sure to tighten her jaw; make her eyes hard, “Trained to fight back.”

Agent Smith let out a hugely unattractive laugh.

Lydia was just about to leave, anger burning her face, but breathlessly, Smith gestured with a limp hand toward the mirrored glass just behind her. The door opened quickly, and in walked a thin-haired man in a well-tailored suit, and a younger, if wearier, blond in an oversized cardigan.

The man was smiling genteelly, but his brown eyes were alert, “Thank you, Agent Smith, for bringing the top applicant in to meet with us today.”

A clear dismissal; Lydia felt ill at ease watching the woman depart to leave her alone with two physically larger people, but her resolve that this interview was more than it seemed only strengthened. She stood immediately to put the table in between them, “Top applicant? I am one out of thousands who applied to MIT, and I applied last minute.

“What’s really going on?” 

“We’ve reviewed- we reviewed only the top scorers for our screening process, and against all- all-all....” the blond one averted their gaze and started to fidget with a wrinkled shirt hem peeking out from under the cardigan.  
“If you don’t let me out of this creepy room,” the Banshee gripped the edge of the closest chair, “I will scream.”

Without missing a beat, the elder carried on, “Against all odds, your proposed theories and thesis papers on new advances in the field of biochemistry are in league with the best and brightest of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.”

Lydia’s grip loosened.

Nothing but silence passed for a moment.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Yes.”

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division?”

“You got it.”

Lydia released the chair and leaned back on the cool, cement wall. “That’s actually a relief.”

The man looked openly confused (not afraid to reveal certain emotions, Lydia mentally noted, only meant more control in other areas), “Relief?”

“Based on Agent Fake-Name’s rundown, I thought I was going to be blackmailed into a terrorist organization,” Lydia bit her bottom lip. “Although, from what I hear on the news… it is terrorist in origin.”

“That’s a bloody- bloody lie-!”

Agent Elder put a firm hand to the suddenly animated blond, keeping them from advancing supposedly on Lydia. She struck a cord.

“Agent Fitz, why don’t you go check up on Agent Smith? This is a new facility and I heard her mention having difficulty locating the break room.”

Fitz froze up, apparently not ready to give up their defense, but hunched up their shoulders anyhow, and shuffled out of the interrogation room. 

With the slamming of the door, mystery man pulled out one of the chairs with a forced little grin, “I apologize for my rudeness; not introducing ourselves when we came in-.”

“But not for your minion’s outburst?”  
He carried on, as if she hadn’t interrupted, “My name is Phil Coulson, and we brought you in today because your IQ, frankly, is quite impressive.”

“I know.” Lydia pursed her lips, attempting to remain closed off and unaffected by this secret agents’ praise. She was alone, in a new city, and her phone was in her purse, in a no-doubt easily accessible locker in the visitor's room. This show of nonchalance in an attempt to ease her out of discomfort wasn’t working out too well.

“Your proposed theories are honestly far beyond that of some of our second year students in the Science and Technology branch.” 

The compliments weren’t hurting. 

“We believe you to be one of the few who have the potential to change the world.”

“Okay,” Lydia stared him dead the eye and crossed her arms. “Laying it on a little thick there, Agent.”

An honest chuckle managed to escape his mouth, and Lydia loosened up just a bit. Coulson could certainly pull off charming, and it helped that she wasn’t picking up on any creepy vibes… supernatural or otherwise.

Coulson sat up but the pleasant smile stayed glued to his face. “I apologize for seeming transparent, but as you can tell from the news, apparently, S.H.I.E.L.D. is in need of some new recruits.”

“And fast?”

“Indeed.”

Lydia flipped her hair and glanced back toward the double-sided mirror, “Is this your usual recruitment method? Isolate someone who catches your interest and intimidate them into joining?”

“Not exactly,” he conceded. “Normally you’d’ve been invited with a promising internship correspondence, requesting your attendance alongside a group of about ten other like-minded college students, for the opportunity to join a new field of study.”

“All vetted and psychoanalyzed beforehand, no doubt.”

Without saying another word, Coulson reached into his suit’s inside pocket and pulled out a silver cased phone and put it down onto the table within Lydia’s reach.

She approached.

She gasped.

“We’ve known about werewolves since we started investigating your background.”

Lydia could feel her heartbeat accelerating; goosebumps running up and down her arms as she stared down at screenshots of her pack in various incriminating situations. “Is this a threat?”

“More an authentication.” the smile was gentle now, as if he hadn’t just exposed everything she and her friends have fought everything to keep secret and safe. “I wanted you to know we’re honest.”

“... Completely transparent.”

“You really should’ve kept in contact with Mister Mahealani.”

If Lydia hadn’t already felt winded by the previous revelations, she was completely off-balance now. “I’m sorry?”

“We recruited Daniel Mahealani before his senior year at… “ Coulson glanced down at the photo stream just as a shot of Derek baring fangs in front of the school sign appeared, “Beacon Hills. While still enrolled, he managed to displace and heavily edit security camera footage not only on your school grounds, but all over Beacon Hills, we deduce, involving your less than scholarly adventures.”

Lydia collapsed into her chair. Processing the facts as they were delivered was wholly feasible, but to hear them so matter-of-factly given in such quick succession was… a lot.

Coulson continued, as he had been doing throughout this whole introduction, completely calm and in control, “Mister Mahealani is the Communications Branch of our academy- only has a few semesters left according to his file. If you’re still amenable to the idea, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be better for your accepted into the the Science and Technology division.”

Lydia was speechless.

Being in this small room; being alone with a presumed high-ranking man and being inducted alone… “Normally?”

“I’m sorry?”

Lydia felt her back-bone growing back in place, “Why am I not being wined and dined with other recruits?”  
Coulson smiled wider, happy with her ability to jump back into her own interrogation after only a short time to swallow all of the information (potential blackmail) he’d just presented her, “I think you know why.”

“If it’s for what my 'impressive IQ' is leading me to suspect, it’s because of my supernatural ties-.”

“And abilities-.”

Lydia held up a commanding hand, cutting him off, “I don’t want to have anything to do with field assignments right off the bat.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t sanction high-risk missions to untrained, Level One agents to begin with.”

“ _Buuut_?” She pursed her lips, waiting for the catch.

Coulson sat up straighter, and the more serious air of the room didn’t escape her notice, “The revelations of Hydra hiding in plain sight hit our whole organization hard. So hard, in fact, that nearly every active agent has been personally affected by this surprise usurpation.” 

“Yourself included?”

“My team.”

“... You’re recruiting me- personally recruiting me- because you’re down a man? Because I have abilities, and connections, that the other prospects don’t.”

Coulson’s body language carefully maneuvered to be be open, widened his mouth in a facsimile to kindness, and tapped two fingers to his nose.

Lydia narrowed her eyes, and considered the agent before her for one long minute.

His smile didn’t twitch.

“No.”

Coulson’s beguiling demeanor wavered, finally, for just half of a second, but it was enough for Lydia.

It was satisfying to have some modicum of power back in her grasp. She realized he hadn’t expected her to say no, but was clearly unwilling to plan for the instance she would refuse. Probably no one had before- and it was the opportunity of a lifetime (she’d never deny that)- but Lydia was done with ultimatums. Done with intimidation.

Done with having access to power and resources she, admittedly, would probably abuse if this offer had come to her as a high school freshman. 

Lydia’s tasted power and been subjugated by it in kind. She was not going to rush head first into this new world, especially not with strangers.

Not with this frightening man who felt so… wrong.

“May I ask why the hesitation?”

“It's not hesitation. Full stop, I will not be your team’s rebound chick.”

The agent didn’t seem to know whether to allow amusement or consternation to steal over his face. Seemingly, these were the first bare emotions he’s permitted himself to reveal in her presence. 

Coulson allowed amusement to win over, as he probably still thought he could persuade her in some way and wanted to keep his jovial side out in full, wooing force, “I assure you, no one on my team would treat you like the replacement puppy.”

“Because they all know their old one isn’t on a farm?”

The humor left him.

His lips’ even thinned.

Ah. Lydia had finally struck her first personal blow.

The interrogation room suddenly seemed so much smaller, and Lydia was beginning to feel claustrophobic as she never felt before. Perhaps deescalating the situation was the way to go from here on out? “Listen, I appreciate the gravity of being asked personally to join what is a clearly a specialized team, but… I’ve honestly had enough of throwing myself into high risk escapades- at least without fully preparing and learning. And, if anything, you should know why I’m not so gung-ho about diving into the deep-end of weird and dangerous,” Lydia worried at her lips and tapped out with her fingers on the table-top tunelessly.

“But it doesn’t mean I still wouldn’t greatly appreciate acceptance into S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. Dip my toe in the pool of possibility? Not everyone learns by being thrown into the water.”

Five tense seconds ticked by on the wall clock, Lydia counted, before Coulson eased his tense back against the chair, and his expression smoothed back out into gentility, “It was unfair and unprofessional of me to ambush you like this- and of course the full scholarship is yours’.

“I’m not petty enough to take away a top-notch education just because you won’t join my team, Miss Martin,” he shrugged his shoulders than stood up.

_Just like that?_

“It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Martin,” here, Coulson reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a card, “The school board will contact you in 3 days time, but until than, here’s my contact information. Burn it once you’ve memorized the number.”

It took Lydia a moment to unlock her hands, where they’d apparently been wringing together on her lap, and wasn’t surprised to feel how numb they were.

The card slipped from her weak grasp, so she bent down to pick it up.

The door opened and closed promptly.

_Just like that?_

Wait.

“Wait!” Lydia pushed off from the ground and sprang towards the door. It clanged open as the metal knob met sturdy drywall, and Lydia saw that the outside resembled just a normal office building.

She also saw Coulson staring at her from down the hallway, standing in front of the other two agents and a large vending machine. “I said, wait!”

Lydia, still clutching the small card stock, marched up to the trio, and looked Coulson right in the eye, “I’m going to demand one more thing from you.”

His eyebrows widened. Apparently this was not an expected move.

Lydia noticed Agent ‘Smith’ mouth the word, ‘demand,’ to the curly haired one, but past mirth was returning to her face.

“Demand?”

“I,” Lydia began, with a suddenly small voice, “would appreciate it if you gave me Danny’s number.”

Coulson didn’t fight back his true smile this time, and instead rifled through the files that Lydia was just now noticing had been taken from the room. “You understand, of course, I can’t make him return your calls.”

“Nor do they tolerate social media stalking,” ‘Smith’ contributed with a teasing smirk.

They?

Coulson continued (he was used to being cut off it seems), “From what I understand, you two didn’t part on the best of terms.”

Lydia put her head down, as she didn’t want the agent to see how easily guilt could contort her face, “We didn’t even say goodbye.”

A calloused hand brushed against her fingers.

It was holding a blue post-it note with 10 digits on it.

“Thank you,” she whispered, still unable to look at them anymore. She didn’t even know where she stood with them. Apparently this interrogation had been their opening number to inducting Lydia into their need-a-supernatural-mascot-secret-sect of S.H.I.E.L.D.

She felt the same calloused hand pat her shoulder gently, “It was honestly a pleasure, Miss Martin. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but we’ll be watching your academic career with keen interest, and the offer will of course still be on the table, should you change your mind.”

“I won’t,” her rebuttal came with a finality that surprised even her, but upon finally raising her head back up, she was greeted with deep dimples from the older man. 

Coulson turned with a final head nod, to her and his agents, then sauntered down the hallway. Fitz nodded as well, the pout still affixed to his mouth, and spun to catch up with their boss, before realizing the other woman hadn’t joined his departure, “C’mon, Skye!”

Lydia beamed smugly, “I knew you were using a fake name.”

Agent Skye let out a deep, unsightly guffaw at Lydia’s minuscule triumph.

It didn’t affect her in the least.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you all liked this fic, and I promise Skye/Lydia will have more of a focus in the next installment, though I can't promise I'll be able to post until at least next month!


End file.
